# UnionOfRAD/lithium

li₃ is the fast, flexible and most RAD development framework for PHP

Repository: https://github.com/UnionOfRAD/lithium
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/unionofrad-lithium
Homepage: http://li3.me
Language: PHP
License: BSD-3-Clause
License Family: permissive
Topics: php, framework, aop, rad, conventions
Last push: 2025-08-18T16:04:34+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 39/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 37, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5566, "days_push": 380, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1219, forks 230 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:01.686914+00:00)

## What it is
li₃ (formerly Lithium) is a full-stack PHP web framework built for rapid application development, featuring a unified ORM/ODM that works with both relational and NoSQL databases. It emphasizes flexibility through its method filter (AOP) system, dynamic dependency injection, and a plugin architecture where every core component is replaceable.

## Use cases
- build a php web application with mvc conventions
- use one orm for both mysql and mongodb
- rapidly prototype a blog or crud app in php
- build a micro-app in a single php file with routing
- swap out framework internals like templating or orm via plugins
- intercept and wrap framework method calls with filters

## When to choose
- you want a flexible, convention-over-configuration PHP framework with NoSQL support
- you need to override or replace core framework classes and components
- you value RAD workflow with unified relational and non-relational data access

## When to avoid
- your team relies on a large ecosystem and hiring pool like Laravel or Symfony
- you need cutting-edge PHP 8+ features or async PHP
- you prefer a framework with minimal opinions and no default project structure

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: active
- function: web-framework, orm, routing, templating, middleware, plugin-system
- domain: web-development, backend, databases, developer-tools
- platform: php, cross-platform
- tags: rad, aop, nosql, mongodb, psr-4, mvc, method-filters, web-server

## Member repositories
- UnionOfRAD/lithium (main) score 39

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:01.686914+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T06:16:12.043205+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/UnionOfRAD/lithium (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:01.686914+00:00, sha ba6b7cfae627)
  - homepage: http://li3.me (fetched 2026-08-29T12:24:34.747127+00:00, sha c282fbf0bbda)
  - site_page: https://li3.me/docs/api/lithium/2.0.x/lithium (fetched 2026-08-29T12:24:34.761746+00:00, sha 1dc1e83535dc)
  - site_page: https://li3.me/docs/api/lithium/1.3.x/lithium (fetched 2026-08-29T12:24:34.763544+00:00, sha 44ca8b7290ed)
  - site_page: https://li3.me/docs/api/lithium/1.2.x/lithium (fetched 2026-08-29T12:24:34.765364+00:00, sha 29e6cb654b5f)
  - site_page: https://li3.me/docs/api/lithium/1.1.x/lithium (fetched 2026-08-29T12:24:34.766998+00:00, sha 9d939b00a47b)
  - site_page: https://li3.me/docs/api/lithium/1.0.x/lithium (fetched 2026-08-29T12:24:34.768601+00:00, sha 77b27dce4988)
  - site_page: https://li3.me/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T12:24:34.756529+00:00, sha ab001d990c6d)
  - site_page: https://li3.me/docs/book/manual/1.x/quickstart (fetched 2026-08-29T12:24:34.758297+00:00, sha 19904a533eda)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.